14. David Duchovny’s return to the UK on his ‘Every Third Thought’ Tour 2019
In my personal opinion this turned out to be an even better experience than the gig I had been to in Glasgow. This time one of my friends from my town of Buxton came with me as my carer. He’s a big X Files fan, but I wasn’t sure what he’d actually make of seeing David performing with his band? But, Chris loved it and took lots of photos, which is good since I don’t and never will own a mobile phone. Once again I had arranged with the venue, this time being the Royal Northern College of Music, to skip the queue since I am disabled. When we arrived they eventually took us down a lift so I could avoid a load of steps.
First, I waited in the foyer and met up with some online pals, including Laurice again. Only this time I also got to meet her husband Walt Frasier, who had flown over from the USA to attend some of David’s second Europe tour. It was nice to finally meet him as he wasn’t at the meet n’ greet in Glasgow, where I met his wife.
This time as part of the VIP experience we were invited to the sound check, where I also met Lynn again, who had been with me at the London con the year before. Chris and I waited by the stage in a line of folks, with a curtained area set up at one end. I realised the orchestra pit was on the same level as the stalls (with 50 seats placed in the area.) This was cool to discover as I had purchased a ticket on the front row of the theatre itself. All thanks to Laurice who had let me know when the tickets were available pre-sale with an online company! I had then phoned the college to explain I was bringing a carer with me, who very kindly sent a disabled pass for Chris on the same row. He actually had been given centre stage, but he gave me his ticket as a thank you for inviting him along! Then after we met Lynn, one of her friends gave up their seat so he could sit next to me!
We watched the warm-up act Kiol (a 22 year old musician from Italy) rehearsing for a while, and he was very good. Then it was Kerry Lee who came on stage, who along with Brad Davidson organisers these events for the band. He then joined her to give us some basic rules to follow regarding the meet n’ greet. One photo and one autograph per person. (Later before the performance, he saw me in the foyer and said ‘Hi!’) Next, it was David Duchovny who came out and sang a few of his songs for the sound check. Then told us some crazy shit was going to happen behind the curtain. ‘Ignore the man behind the curtain!’ LOL! One by one we took our turns, each with our one item to be signed. Chris had bought his ‘I Want To Believe’ movie DVD with him and while he was getting his photo with David, I ended up chatting with Brad. We’d also had to write down our names on a card. Well, Brad checked mine, grinned and then called me ‘Lenny’! He already knew my name, but I was just following the rules! LOL! I told him, no..Penny! Then mentioned how he was following me on Twitter? He replied with a grin that he knew he was. The very next day in a DM, he apologised for the ‘slip of the tongue’, telling me he knew who I was! LOL! Anyway, I had decided to bring along a picture of the Buddha of Compassion, Chenrezig. So, I asked Brad if I could give it to David, and luckily he was fine with that, and said how lovely it was. This picture had been in a frame sat on my shrine at home for ages. It was during one of my daily meditations I just decided I was going to pass it on to David. He’d had his fair share of dark times, and so I was hoping it would help pass on some good karma? Months later, I actually discovered he’d changed agencies and was finally doing another movie. Far as I recall his last one ‘Phantom’ was about six years ago? (This particular movie turned out later to be ‘The Craft -Legacy’.) I was just so pleased he was acting again in films, and I also believe Buddha may have had a hand in this! Now, he’s co-adapting his new novel ‘Truly Like Lightning’ into a series and starring as his lead character! I really do wish him well with this venture, because he’s getting to bring his own writing to the screen once again, and hasn’t done this since his film ‘House Of D’ which was screened in the US on April 15th 2005.
So, I walked over to David and placed the picture on a shelf behind us. Then to my surprise he pulled me close, and I found that I could rest my head on his shoulder while we had the photo taken. Aw! He’d noticed me talking to Brad, so then asked me what I’d brought for him? I proceeded to explain all about Chenrezig being the Buddha of Compassion, and how I follow Tara, who is Liberation From Sorrow. I asked him if he knew that she was born from his tears? He hadn’t heard of this beautiful story and was quite taken with it. So much so that to my amazement he then turned to the photographer, put his arm around me again, stuck his hand on my shoulder and asked for another photo while he held up the Buddha deity picture.
We watched the warm-up act Kiol (a 22 year old musician from Italy) rehearsing for a while, and he was very good. Then it was Kerry Lee who came on stage, who along with Brad Davidson organisers these events for the band. He then joined her to give us some basic rules to follow regarding the meet n’ greet. One photo and one autograph per person. (Later before the performance, he saw me in the foyer and said ‘Hi!’) Next, it was David Duchovny who came out and sang a few of his songs for the sound check. Then told us some crazy shit was going to happen behind the curtain. ‘Ignore the man behind the curtain!’ LOL! One by one we took our turns, each with our one item to be signed. Chris had bought his ‘I Want To Believe’ movie DVD with him and while he was getting his photo with David, I ended up chatting with Brad. We’d also had to write down our names on a card. Well, Brad checked mine, grinned and then called me ‘Lenny’! He already knew my name, but I was just following the rules! LOL! I told him, no..Penny! Then mentioned how he was following me on Twitter? He replied with a grin that he knew he was. The very next day in a DM, he apologised for the ‘slip of the tongue’, telling me he knew who I was! LOL! Anyway, I had decided to bring along a picture of the Buddha of Compassion, Chenrezig. So, I asked Brad if I could give it to David, and luckily he was fine with that, and said how lovely it was. This picture had been in a frame sat on my shrine at home for ages. It was during one of my daily meditations I just decided I was going to pass it on to David. He’d had his fair share of dark times, and so I was hoping it would help pass on some good karma? Months later, I actually discovered he’d changed agencies and was finally doing another movie. Far as I recall his last one ‘Phantom’ was about six years ago? (This particular movie turned out later to be ‘The Craft -Legacy’.) I was just so pleased he was acting again in films, and I also believe Buddha may have had a hand in this! Now, he’s co-adapting his new novel ‘Truly Like Lightning’ into a series and starring as his lead character! I really do wish him well with this venture, because he’s getting to bring his own writing to the screen once again, and hasn’t done this since his film ‘House Of D’ which was screened in the US on April 15th 2005.
So, I walked over to David and placed the picture on a shelf behind us. Then to my surprise he pulled me close, and I found that I could rest my head on his shoulder while we had the photo taken. Aw! He’d noticed me talking to Brad, so then asked me what I’d brought for him? I proceeded to explain all about Chenrezig being the Buddha of Compassion, and how I follow Tara, who is Liberation From Sorrow. I asked him if he knew that she was born from his tears? He hadn’t heard of this beautiful story and was quite taken with it. So much so that to my amazement he then turned to the photographer, put his arm around me again, stuck his hand on my shoulder and asked for another photo while he held up the Buddha deity picture.
Afterwards, I mentioned about how he also meditates? To which he told me he should really do this more often! LOL! Things in my own life had been pretty lousy last year, so I explained that basically when your life turns to shit, you need something like this for guidance. I then told him next time he meditates to put Chenrezig in front of him. It was then that he realised he had to sign something for me. I had brought my previous photo taken of us at LFCC, and showed him this. He immediately asked me where it had been taken, so I reminded him, London last year. And his reply was, ‘Oh, yes!’ Then he started writing my name whilst saying quite convincingly, ‘Jenny, right?’ He hadn’t checked the card where I’d written my name and I don’t know if he had heard Brad calling me ‘Lenny’? But, he decided I was Jenny! I just grinned and corrected him by saying, ‘No, Penny.’ He’d already drawn a line on the photo, and then came out with, ‘Penny? Shit!’ I then laughed and replied, ‘No, not Penny Shit!’ which then made him snigger! LOL! Hey! He’d only got the first initial wrong, which was pretty cool in my books!
The concert was fantastic, and I realised David had been working on his vocals and his singing had improved so much more than the Glasgow gig. I could tell how hard he works on his singing voice, from the performances I had seen as time passed by. Although this time he unfortunately sang the wrong lyrics to ‘Hell Or High Water’, the song he normally has down pat! During this second European tour, Laurice and her members of the Duchovniacs online fan group had been handing out blue see-through guitar pics. They had made them so they could be held in front of the light on a mobile phone, which would then display a blue glow. It was quite spectacular and looked like an electronic candle-light vigil! But, David was so touched by this grand gesture that it put him off his performance! He jokingly blamed the audience for this, claiming it was their fault but he loved them all for it! I wasn’t able to contribute to the ‘vigil’ as like I said, I don’t have a mobile phone. LOL! Another slight dilemma occurred near the end of the gig, when he came back on stage for the encores wearing a Manchester United shirt!
Clearly some ‘Man City’ fans were not pleased, and a few boos could be heard around the theatre arena. His PR should have realised there are in fact two major football clubs in Manchester. Oops! In the middle of his final number ‘Positively Madison Avenue’ he ended up stripping it off and hurling it into the audience, while some crazed females screamed their heads off! He’d signed the shirt as well, so whoever received it had a very sweaty souvenir! LOL!
During the encores we’d all demanded loudly for, I noticed people were getting up and moving towards the front. So, I started walking down the middle aisle with Chris following behind, and actually got right up to the very front of the stage! I think my personal highlight during the event (with the exception of the meet n’ greet of course) was finding myself able to stare up at David while he sang a balladic version of ‘Let It Rain’, with band member and sometimes song writer Colin Lee on piano and a female guest musician on the violin. It was even more hauntingly beautiful than I’d ever heard it before. I had been singing along to his songs throughout the gig, which he always encouraged anyway. I noticed this lass dancing beside me was singing along, and she had a really good voice. So, I jokingly suggested we should be his backing singers, to which she agreed wholeheartedly! I was also up on my feet dancing during those final numbers, and boy did I suffer the next day! My legs got so sweaty and hot inside my artificial ones and rubbed sore in places. I ended up mentioning this to Brad in a DM who said he was sorry and hoped that I was feeling better? That was so sweet of him. The staff who had originally brought us a different way and via a lift were not there to take us back after the concert either. So, in the end I had to walk up all those flights of steps, but least it was one way only. But yes! It had definitely been worth the suffering that came afterwards!
Back to David. Also during the gig he completely forgot what song he was singing next? He’d been touring all over Europe and was pretty exhausted, so it was understandable that it was all just a blur to him now, as he so aptly put it. ‘I dunno what’s next…and who gives a shit!’ is exactly how he expressed his feelings. Then proceeded to throw a copy of the list of songs into the audience, asking whoever got it to tell him what was next? But no one actually picked it up off the floor! LOL!
Later, someone shared the list of songs from Manchester’s gig, online.
Later, someone shared the list of songs from Manchester’s gig, online.
At some point in time David decided to jump off the stage, come over to our front row and touch hands with folk. He did a ‘Hi five over me, so I ended up grabbing his arm instead. LOL! Then he ran around the theatre so more people could join in the fun. I also got a couple of nice moments during his performances. He waved back to me during ‘3000’ and before ‘Stranger in the Sacred Heart’ he mentioned how it was ultimately about compassion…and looked out at me. Well, after all this is what I’d been talking about when I’d given him that Buddha deity picture during the meet n’ greet!
It really was such a bloody good night and I’m glad they decided to come to my nearest northern city! It was also interesting to hear some of the band members actually studied in Stockport in the past, which is a borough of Greater Manchester.
the Duchovny band – not my photo
We were grateful for the encores as it meant we’d had more time with the guys. But, then Chris realised since we’d gone overtime, there was now only one last train to catch to take me home. We had also missed the connection to Piccadilly Station so one of the staff in the college phoned for a taxi for us. We ended up waiting rather a long time, before discovering two ladies were also heading in the same direction. So, we agreed whoever’s taxi arrived first, we would all share back to the station. In the end there transport arrived before ours, and Chris insisted on paying the fare, thanking the ladies for allowing us to share their taxi. He then travelled with me as far as Stockport to make sure I was safe (bless him!) Then he got off the train and headed back to Manchester, as he was staying as a student at Salford University in Media City. I then carried on all the way back to Buxton, after he’d rung ahead and arranged a taxi to pick me up at my local station and drive me home! He really is such a lovely guy, and has been a friend since we used to frequent various pubs in town in the past and sing at karaoke nights!
Later, everyone who had been to the gig received their photos online via Drop Box, and it was then I realised the one they had chosen of David and me was the second photo, that he’d asked for (with the Buddha deity picture.) Then, a few weeks or so later I discovered the lady photographer on Twitter thanking David for letting her have the job in Manchester. I took a chance and tweeted her, asking if there was any possibility of getting a-hold of the first photo she had taken? That had been the one where he’d pulled me close, so I had kind of hoped it would be the one Ging Management would choose? It turned out Brad saw my tweet and got Kerry Lee to message me on Facebook, for my email address. But for some reason she wasn’t able to reach me that way, so let me know she’d sent it via Drop Box instead. Well, I thanked him so much, and also linked Kerry’s Twitter handle to the post. That was just such a lovely thing to do, and I seriously hadn’t been expecting anything like that! Wow!
Later, everyone who had been to the gig received their photos online via Drop Box, and it was then I realised the one they had chosen of David and me was the second photo, that he’d asked for (with the Buddha deity picture.) Then, a few weeks or so later I discovered the lady photographer on Twitter thanking David for letting her have the job in Manchester. I took a chance and tweeted her, asking if there was any possibility of getting a-hold of the first photo she had taken? That had been the one where he’d pulled me close, so I had kind of hoped it would be the one Ging Management would choose? It turned out Brad saw my tweet and got Kerry Lee to message me on Facebook, for my email address. But for some reason she wasn’t able to reach me that way, so let me know she’d sent it via Drop Box instead. Well, I thanked him so much, and also linked Kerry’s Twitter handle to the post. That was just such a lovely thing to do, and I seriously hadn’t been expecting anything like that! Wow!
Okay, here are some of the many photos my mate Chris took of David during his gig. Enjoy!
And these are a few photos I found online which I thought were rather cool!